Comparison

Spacecraft AR vs Sandbox AR

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Spacecraft AR

Explore the solar system with interactive 3D models of NASA spacecraft. View them in augmented reality, scaled to your environment, and learn about their missions. Perfect for aspiring astronauts, educators, and space lovers.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D spacecraft models
  • Augmented reality viewing
  • True-to-life and adjustable scaling
  • Detailed mission information
  • In-app camera functionality
  • Explore Earth, Mars, and beyond
Features
Read full description

Created by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this stunning educational app uses native mobile augmented reality to bring spacecraft explorers from across the solar system to whatever space you’re in. Find a flat surface and view interactive 3D models right in front of you, scaled to table-top size or in their true-to-life proportions. Take pics with the spacecraft in your favorite environments, and explore detailed info about their fascinating missions. This tool is excellent for budding astronauts, teachers, and space enthusiasts. Bring NASA’s journey of exploration to life in the classroom, home, or anywhere. Features: Interact with 3D spacecraft models of the Curiosity rover, Mars Exploration Rover (Spirit/Opportunity), InSightSMAP, Voyager, Juno, and Cassini, the 70-Meter Deep Space Network Antenna and more. Learn about missions that explore Earth, Mars, and beyond True-to-life and adjustable size interaction In-depth information about each space mission Camera functionality

About

Sandbox AR

Create, build, and explore immersive virtual worlds using augmented reality. This app allows users to scale creations to life-size and share them with others. It's designed to bring interactive technology into educational settings.

Highlights
  • Create, build, and explore in AR
  • Life-size scale exploration
  • Share creations via QR code
  • Capture snapshots and videos
  • Teacher audio descriptions (DE:X subscribers)
  • Link to curated resources (DE:X subscribers)
Read full description

--- Multi award-winning augmented reality maker app --- - BETT Awards 2023 Best AR/VR ! - GESS Awards 2023 Best Digital XR / VR / AI Product - spaces4learning New Product Award 2022 ! -- What is Sandbox? -- Experience, build, and explore in AR with Discovery Education Sandbox. Designed as a companion to the award-winning Discovery Education Experience learning platform, bring immersive technology and content into the classroom. Choose from hundreds of models and create a virtual world to experience and share with fellow students and teachers. Use life size mode to scale up and walk inside your own creation! -- Features -- • Create, build and explore in augmented reality. • Explore creations in life-size scale! • Share your sandboxes with other users with a simple QR code. • Capture snapshots and videos of your sandbox. -- Enhanced features for DE:X subscribers -- As a Discovery Education Experience or Espresso subscriber, access additional features to add teacher audio descriptions to sandboxes and add links to your own curated resources on Experience or Espresso. Integrate with studio boards and access future additional model packs.

Screenshots

Spacecraft AR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sandbox AR at 100% against Spacecraft AR's 53%. Sandbox AR also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.1) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). Spacecraft AR's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sandbox AR holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Spacecraft AR's written reviews are positive against 100% of Sandbox AR's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spacecraft AR ships an update every 7 months, Sandbox AR every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Spacecraft AR versus Sandbox AR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpacecraft ARSandbox AR
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (25 ratings)4.7 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size160 MB1.6 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJet Propulsion LaboratoryDiscovery Education Inc.

Customer experience

Spacecraft AR

All ratings25 ratings
Positive48.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative44.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative33.3%

Sandbox AR

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Spacecraft AR

No in-app purchases

None

Sandbox AR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spacecraft AR free?
Spacecraft AR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sandbox AR free?
Sandbox AR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Spacecraft AR or Sandbox AR?
Sandbox AR is rated higher. Spacecraft AR averages 3.1 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Sandbox AR averages 4.7 from 11 ratings.
Do Spacecraft AR or Sandbox AR have ads?
Neither Spacecraft AR nor Sandbox AR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spacecraft AR or Sandbox AR?
Spacecraft AR ships an update every 7 months, and Sandbox AR every 2 months. Most recently, Spacecraft AR was updated on October 11, 2026 and Sandbox AR on October 8, 2026.

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